These days I'm generally the last person laying eyes on something new in the neighborhood, but I still find it necessary to conduct photo documentation when the calendar and forecast align. Which they did on Sunday.

Let's look at signs and entrances, starting first at F1rst and its Residence Inn, where it looks like the homestretch has been entered (click to enlarge, of course):

Then, let's go over to 4th Street, where the District Winery building continues to zip along. It's also where the Bower is now signed, as is Conte's space in Arris:

Then we'll double back westward (you're getting a sense for how far I walk on these excursions), taking a look at the new sidewalk on New Jersey Avenue in front of Insignia on M. Shake Shack's signage at the Homewood Suites, and the One Hill South entrance (very New York, isn't it). (I caught the Bethesda Bagels signage back in December, just in case you think I'm missing it.)

I even caught the view from the bridge of the new Bardo beer garden at Florida Rock, with a few hardy souls in attendance. Plus, views of both Agora on New Jersey Avenue (aka the Whole Foods Building) and 1221 Van (aka That Big Building On South Capitol Immediately North of the Ballpark):

All the links above to project pages have additional brand spanking new pics, and of course Before photos.

Next up, checking out holes in the ground, both current and coming soon.

* The first sit-down restaurant at the F1rst development has been reported by WBJ: Declaration, a 3,500-square-foot restaurant from the Presidential Restaurant Group, which is Lincoln and Teddy & the Bully Bar as well as the first Declaration at 8th and V NW. WBJ says that it will be in the ground floor of the Residence Inn next door to the actual F1rst apartment building, and will have entrances from both the street and the hotel lobby. It also will apparently "be significantly larger and therefore offer a broader menu" than the V Street location, including "Philadelphia-oriented menu items." This location "aims to open by the end of 2017." It joins the previously announced F1rst lineup of Taylor Gourmet, Chop't, Rasa Indian Grill, Chipotle, and Roti.

* The BID reports that Forest City has announced (I never hear about Forest City things directly anymore) that all-organic, vegan, and gluten-free juice bar and raw-food kitchen The Juice Laundry will be coming to Arris in the spring, its first location outside of its home base in Charlottesville. If you want a sneak preview, there's a pop-up version of the Juice Laundry this weekend at the corner of 4th and Tingey, from 10 am to 6 pm today (Friday, Dec. 2) and tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 3).

* Barred in DC says that "the long saga for the Bardo River Brewery appears to be over," with Bardo and ABRA having entering into a consent order this week that will finally pave the way for a liquor license. Barred says that the order means that Bardo can be open until midnight, but is "required to create a security plan and maintain a comprehensive security camera system and cannot seek permission to have entertainment, such as live music or DJs." However, an "anonymous" comment on Barred's post disputes these items, and says that Bardo "is still pursuing legal measures due to the delays ABRA's illegal actions caused." Gosh, I wonder who wrote that!

This was Bardo's second attempt at a license for this site (having withdrawn the original application before a ruling was made), and a previous similar notion for the site was denied a liquor license for similar reasons back in 2013.

"While Bardo has presented a modified Application, the Board is not convinced that this new business plan alleviates the problems previously identified at this site. Specifically, the Board is still not convinced that an open air tavern has the capability to prevent unreasonable noise disturbances; that the neighborhood has a sufficient amount of parking; that Bardo can coexist or be included in the neighborhood's official traffic plan; that encouraging stadium attendees to cross Potomac Avenue, S.E., is safe; and that Bardo can exist without delaying or interfering with people and vehicles attempting to the leave Nationals Park after games or other events. Consequently, Board finds itself compelled to once again deny an application at this location."

This is Bardo's second attempt at the ABC process for this site (the first placard having been rescinded just a few weeks after a filing in August), and is now technically the fourth time that the notion of a large outdoor activity/party/drinking/whatever space has been attempted at this spot across from Nats Park.

This application is for a Retailer's Class D Tavern license (as opposed to a Class C Tavern license last time), and is described thusly: "Outdoor Beer Garden. Beer made on premise. Food Trucks to supply food. Total number of Summer Garden seats: 700. Total Occupancy Load: 750. Brew Pub Endorsement."

As to why Bardo's application earlier in 2015 never made it all the way through after being announced back in March, one might want to read this transcript from the April hearing at the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to see the many (many) concerns raised by the board and by MPD, which clearly is not supportive of any venture of this type in this location. (And I can't not highlight the comments from Commander Jeff Brown of MPD about how the "applicant here says it's going to be cornhole bean-bag toss, which I'm not even going to pretend to know what that is, but I think I'll be safe to say that it's not very popular.")

I wrote a few weeks ago about the latest plans to use two acres on the western part of the Florida Rock site along the Anacostia River as a "brew garden" and neighborhood park while waiting for the project's later phases to get underway--and I also wrote about the muted reception the idea got from ANC 6D after a somewhat nebulous presentation by developer MRP Realty and representatives of Bardo.

Now the Bardo folks, who already operate a similar brew garden in Northeast, are trying to raise $200,000 to "do this thing deluxe," to create what it calls Bardo Riverfront, described as "100,000 square feet of BeerDisneyLand." This would include flush toilets instead of porta-potties, a bike shop, a kiddie playground, and "the largest dog park in DC," as well as parking for 500 bicycles, cornhole, food trucks, outdoor movies "projected onto a floating screen in the river," and other ideas.

Donations of $20 now will get you four pints of beer when it opens, or four pitchers for a $50 donation, or numerous other options up to a $5,000 donation allowing you to take over the entire place on any Monday-Thursday when the Nats aren't playing. If you don't have money to contribute, you could donate wood trips, or "big tree logs to make into totem poles."

With the western portion of the 5.5-acre Florida Rock site along the Anacostia River just south of Nats Park not likely to be built on for a number of years (thanks to that pesky little detail of needing to demolish the existing Douglass Bridge first), there are again plans being discussed to "activate" the area with an interim use, even while construction continues to the east on the project's first-phase apartment building.

Developer MRP Realty will be going to ANC 6D in the coming days/weeks to look for feedback on what the space could offer, but the basics they are envisioning at this point are to use the space as an outdoor "brew garden" while also providing a large neighborhood-oriented park.

MRP would partner with the brewing team from Bardo, who would be in charge of the on-site vats and the craft beer-filled taps, while the rest of the site could see a number of sub-vendors offering various activities, like a putt-putt course or maybe even batting cages. There would also be picnic tables along the river, food (on-site offerings and food trucks are both possibilities), and family-friendly programming as yet undetermined.

What the site will not offer is large concerts or private events, though smaller-scale music could be a possibility. I'm told the site would have a maximum capacity of around 1,000 guests.

This is notthefirst rodeo for the idea of using this large open space, although previous notions were on a larger scale and perhaps might be described as more Fairgrounds-like, a comparison that this new proposal is apparently trying very hard to avoid.

Since it's all still in the brainstorming phase, and still has to go through the ANC, the alcohol/beverage folks, and various city agencies for permits, it remains a bit nebulous. (Feel free to use the comments to pass along any ideas for activities and offerings.)

In the meantime, work continues on the Riverfront, the 300-unit apartment building on the east end of the site, by Diamond Teague Park. This first phase construction will also see an expanded plaza between the building and Teague Park, a westward extension of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail into the Florida Rock site, and an already planned temporary use space separating the brew garden/park from the new building, with some surface parking, a small green space, and "The Beach," a sand-covered spot with volleyball courts. The building is expected to be completed in 2016.